Глава 16

God commands him not to enter into marriage and not to give birth to children, because both those who give birth and those who are born will be given over to hunger, plague, beatings and slavery. He also commands not to rejoice with one who rejoices, and not to grieve with one who grieves. For he says: Jeremiah 16:5. I have taken away My peace from these people, says the Lord, My mercy and My mercies. (Jer.16:6). “And the great and the small will die in this land.” He says that the dead will not be honored with burial, there will be no ordinary crying over them, and those who cry will not receive any consolation. He also threatens to deprive the city of all kinds of fun, so that no voice will be heard, either at marriages, or at feasts, or at anything else that brings joy to people in life. And when, says God, they will ask and say: for what reason did we fall into these disasters? recall the wickedness of the fathers, show what they themselves dared to do, and explain that they sinned more than the fathers, leading their lives not according to My law, but following their own thoughts. Therefore, says God, Jeremiah 16:13. I will tear you up from the land of sowing into the land, which you and your fathers do not know, and there you will serve as a strange god day and night, who will not give you mercy. Because you love gods that do not exist; then I will drive you out of your native land and hand you over to the enemies, so that you charms may serve with them. However, he also promises a return, and says that at this time they will sing songs to God, not remembering previous good deeds, and they will not talk about liberation from Egyptian slavery, but everyone will marvel at the return from Babylon. (Jer.16:16). “Behold, I will send many fishermen,” says the Lord, and they will catch them: and therefore I will send many fishermen, and they will catch them on every hill and from the caves of the stones.” Sim expressed the inevitability of punishment; because the enemies, imitating the fishermen and catchers, will catch them all in their nets, and will also capture those who try to hide on the mountains. Jeremiah 16:17. For Mine eyes are upon all their ways: they are not hidden from My face, and the essence of their iniquity is not hidden from My sight. I see everything, everything that is done is not hidden from Me. Jeremiah 16:18. And I will repay them first of all iniquity and their sins, having desecrated My land with them in the carrion of their abominations. As a philanthropist, he calls punishment “extreme” in considering sins; By the very same justice, they did not suffer the punishments that they deserved. The slaughter of sons and daughters sacrificed to idols is called “carrion” and “abominations”. Thus showing the wickedness of the people, he foreshadows the conversion of the pagans: Jeremiah 16:19. The Lord is my strength, and my help, and my refuge in the day of evil: to You the heathen will flee from the last of the earth, and will say: Our fathers have indeed acquired false idols, and there is no profit in them. Those who were honored with such care for them, using the “teaching” of the law and the Prophets, continued to wickedly and live lawlessly; and the pagans, who did not benefit from such providence for them, barely heard the apostolic sermon, fled deception and came to the light of knowledge of God. Reminding you of the previous parable, I cry: Jeremiah 16:20. Man will create food for himself - gods, and are they not gods? (Jer.16:21). “For this reason, behold, I will show them My hand at this time, and to those who know I will do My power to them, and they will know that My name is the Lord.” Long before, says God, I foretell the future for them, and teach them in advance what is My power; because I will make this change in them through a small number of insignificant people.